Last week in Lamentations 4 we read about “compassionate women…boiling their own children” (Lam. 4:10). We recoil in disgust at this idea. To us who live in comfortable 21st century America, nothing could seem more base or brutish.
But yesterday I read a review for a book I’ve never read, referencing a historical event I was unfamiliar with. The book is titled Leningrad: State of Siege, and it chronicles the siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by the Germans in 1941. Hitler’s soldiers encircled the historic Russian city, cutting it off from food supply and outside contact for 900 days. According to the reviewer, “At least 1.2 million Leningrad residents (of a pre-war population of 3 million) died during this most murderous siege in world history, now largely forgotten, in part because Soviet leaders tried to destroy many records of it.”
He goes on to recount: “Food rationing left many citizens with only 500 calories a day… adults normally need 2,000 to 2,500. Cannibalism was the last refuge of the starving. ‘Twelve-year old Valentina Rothmann had volunteered to help remove bodies from abandoned apartments… to her horror she found many had their buttocks cut away… remaining bits of flesh were being torn off and sold on Leningrad’s black market.’”
Somehow we never studied this in my World War II History course in college. Perhaps the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem recorded in Lamentations is not so culturally distant from us after all.
Too many men are actually little boys who have never grown up. If there’s one thing we could ask of every man who wants to be taken seriously as a spiritual leader, it’s to watch or listen to the sermon Mark Driscoll preached last week entitled “Marriage and Men” — and then evaluate your own life in light of it.
Buckle up… you’re about to get kicked in the groin. But it will be good for you.
Good Morning America picked up the David Pinckney/Raymond Guay story this morning. Pinckney isn’t thrilled with how the segment was framed (it’s pretty cliche), but the story does give a real interesting insight into how people view the gospel and redemption. Note especially the lady who says “There are more deserving people the pastor could be helping.”
Mark Driscoll debates New Age guru Deepak Chopra over the existence of Satan on a Nightline “Face-Off” Debate taped last week at Mars Hill. Segment is supposed to air this Thursday night on ABC (10:30 PM-ish Central). The preliminary teaser put out by ABC News looks pretty interesting!
I lament mental illness. Depression, eating disorders, you name it. I used to think it wasn’t real – that people just needed to stop being lazy and try harder. Something so deep and painful inside of someone that could render them completely hopeless was beyond my comprehension. Sure, I have bad days, but the dark controlling nature of depression was something I didn’t understand.
Until my sister began cutting herself – but not to commit suicide, but as a release. The cuts were all over her forearms and when people kept asking about it, she moved onto her stomach and legs. There were many years of alcohol dependency, bad relationships, sex, suicide attempts – utter destruction of her teenage years. My sister is bipolar and takes a cocktail of medication each day – she is 25. She cannot hold down a job for very long and she has trouble making meaningful, lasting friendships. She is in a constant cycle of good and bad – I never know when my phone rings whether she’ll be elated or sobbing.
I often ask why. Why does bipolar disorder (or any other mental illness) have to exist? Why does my sister have it and I don’t? Why isn’t there something I can do? Why doesn’t God do something? My sister is an amazing person – the most caring person I know. She gives of herself time and again. When she is in a ‘stable’ place in her cycle, her mood and smile is contagious. She has a zest for life – but why is it clouded by bipolar disorder?
Bob’s sermon on Lamentations 2 concluded by calling us to worship God for his faithfulness: “God is faithful. No sin will go unpunished. Every act is going to be brought to light – brought to judgment. That’s what gives us hope – God is going to be faithful to His word.”
But who will be brought to judgment for mental illness? I know that God works against us sometimes – and that we may not understand it – because it’s His plan, not ours. But what could possibly be God’s purpose for this?
My only comfort is this: God is so faithful to his word and his promises, he did not even spare his own son.
A biographical lecture on 18th-century poet William Cowper, including the full text of his poem “God Moves in Mysterious Ways” from which we quoted on Sunday, can be found here.
Westminster Confession of Faith section 5 on Providence can be found here.
It has been a busy couple of weeks within Acts 29, with a major bootcamp/training event in Seattle, some unexpected media scrutiny in the Northeast, and a televised debate taking place tonight. So there has been some delay in posting the audio from the Church History Conference. But as of today, the audio is now available for download at the main Acts 29 website. If the link doesn’t work, just go to acts29network.org and look for Multimedia > Regional Events > 2009 Omaha Regionals.
Also, if you subscribe to the Acts 29 podcast, the files should appear in iTunes when you refresh your podcast directory.
Thanks to all of you who made the conference a success. And if you weren’t able to make it, you can now catch some top-notch content from one of the foremost church historians in the world for free. ‘Cause that’s how we roll. Enjoy.
It often seems easier to just stuff my pain deep within instead of facing it and lamenting it. I’m learning this very week that in the long run, it is best to lament, to be vulnerable with safe people, and to ask for help and forgiveness. This is the only way to be set free from my past, my sin, my darkness, my pain!
So I am lamenting my sexual sin. A life of escaping reality and a fear of being intimate with other people. As a female, I chose to escape my pain, fear, hurt, loneliness, and rejection from others by masturbating, fantasizing, and viewing pornography. The use of all three intensified over time and in a state of never being satisfied and wanting more, more, more – I feared the next step – stepping out of my private online viewing and seeking the real thing in person somewhere “out there.” My fear pushed me to get help – I praise God for this.
Who do I trust enough with my secret? I was so afraid, so ashamed! A Christian counselor was the only person who seemed logical at the moment. I have never regretted that decision and have traveled far in my journey of recovery.
My current lament is the realization that I am filled with pride in my recovery from sexual sin. As I’ve become a leader in a support group and see others at the point where I was long ago (at the bottom), I somehow think, “I’m better than they are because I’ve already worked through my stuff!” Wow – God is setting me straight on this prideful thinking right now! It is so easy to fall back into sin at the drop of a hat at the most unexpected moment. I am powerless and it is only Jesus Christ who has the power and strength to save me and help me overcome my addiction. My sin is so grievous and hurtful to myself and to others. I am undeserving of God’s love and mercy. Yet, God lavishly has given His Son, His only Son, to take my place and receive the punishment I am so deserving of. I have been worshiping myself and the images of other people instead of my God. How far away from God can I get in doing so? I deserve His judgement!
Yet God has welcomed me home, time and time again, with open arms, a feast, a robe and a ring on my finger – reminding me that I am his precious daughter! I can’t help but lament and worship Him at the same time.
The pastor referenced in this NY Times article today is a personal friend and a partner in the Acts 29 Network. Please be praying for this tough situation – a demonstration of gospel hospitality and yet a bold and risky venture by any stretch. The church exists for mission… and sometimes mission is dangerous.
Last week in Lamentations 4 we read about “compassionate women…boiling their own children” (Lam. 4:10). We recoil in disgust at this idea. To us who live in comfortable 21st century America, nothing could seem more base or brutish.
Good Morning America
